Open Mic Again (and a White Daily-Carry!)

 

3/1/26 Open mic at Cocoa Legato, Greenwood neighborhood

Ching and I had so much fun at Cocoa Legato’s open mic session a couple of weeks ago that we went again, and this time Natalie came with us. Last time, attendance was a bit sparse, but word must have gotten out, because we could hardly find a table on Sunday. I’m happy that business has picked up for this unique chocolate and music venue.

I think I captured all the participating vocalists except the few who were onstage while I was scarfing down my avocado toast with chocolate nibs. (Yes, it was delicious! All their surprising entrees taste better than they initially seem like they would!)

Newsflash: For the first time in years, my daily-carry sketch journal contains white paper! How radical! As much as I love using colored Uglybooks for almost all types of sketching, around this time of year, I start missing the opportunity to use color when I’m out walking and spot a blossoming tree.

The first sketch in this book is dated 7/2/20, but all I had to
do was look at the sticker on the cover to know the era in which
I started it.

As happens, I was looking through some sketchbooks and came upon an old pocket-size, softcover Stillman & Birn Beta that I had started during the pandemic. After using the first half, I abandoned it, possibly because I had discovered Hahnemühle. Anyway, I seem to be on a mission to complete partially used sketchbooks, so it was a fortuitous find in my stash. If it works, it will enable me to use color spontaneously without having to carry an additional book (and therefore an additional tote).

It’s most likely a brief interlude; half of a 52-page book isn’t going to last me long as a daily sketch journal. It’ll be long enough, though, to decide whether I can tolerate its bulkiness as a daily-carry. I enjoy using colored pages too much to switch permanently, but maybe it would be a good change during the more colorful seasons.

For the record, it does bother me that I’ve broken the chronological continuity of my daily sketch journal process in Uglybooks, which I’d maintained for more than two years. How weird to proceed in the middle of a sketchbook half-filled with random sketches, especially from the worst of all years, 2020! After pondering for a while, though, I reminded myself not to be a slave to my own “rules.” It’s the daily practice that’s important, not the book I use.

Blue Skyline

 

2/28/26 Seattle skyline from Maple Leaf Park

It’s always a small surprise to glimpse the Space Needle and downtown skyline from Maple Leaf Park: They seem like they should be farther away. During the height of the pandemic, I sought this view longingly, wistfully. Even during the second pandemic summer when I was finally getting back out into the world, I wasn’t quite ready for public transportation, so I still missed going downtown.

Now I’m back to taking it for granted again. I’m comfortable going downtown, and it feels easier than ever to hop on a train or bus. But walking around Maple Leaf Park on a chilly, sunny afternoon last Saturday, I was suddenly again taken with how close downtown seems, and how beautiful our skyline is when I stop to appreciate it. I reminded myself not to take it for granted.

The Pencil I Never Sent

 

For many years now, I’ve been a member of the Erasable Podcast Community on Facebook, where the main topic of conversation is – you guessed it – pencils. In addition to geeking out about all things pencil, we also do a lot of swapping and some buying/selling. That group is how I acquired some of my vintage collection. I’ve had many ultra-geeky chats with certain members who fly the same colored pencil freak flag as I do.

A highly skilled colored pencil artist and budding urban sketcher, Gary had many of the same pencil interests as I do, not to mention deep knowledge of some esoteric pencil subsectors I had no clue about. We’ve had numerous chats that would make unwitting eavesdroppers’ eyes roll if their heads weren’t already spinning from discontinued color numbers or pencil brand logo changes.

I knew that Gary was seeking the red version of Field Notes Brand’s carpenter pencil. Although the notebook company has periodically offered various versions, the red one has been out of production for years. Gary has surprised me with numerous vintage and contemporary colored pencils and other gifts from the UK over the years (he gave me the King Charles III coronation commemorative Bic 4-Color Pen!). He is well known in the Erasable community for his generosity. I wanted to surprise him with that red carpenter pencil. It took me a while, but I worked out a swap with another member, and I managed to acquire his coveted pencil.

That was more than a year ago. It would have been a simple task to package up the pencil and ship it to him in the UK, but it seemed silly to ship only one pencil across the pond. I kept thinking I’d add a few more things to the package. Meanwhile, I was going through all my downsizing shenanigans and various other distractions, but I kept the red Field Notes pencil on my desktop as a reminder.

A reminder.

Every now and then I’d see the pencil, think of Gary, and tell myself to just put it into the mail. And then I’d ponder what else to put in the box – he’s a vast collector who owns many pencils; what else would he possibly want? – and that would prompt me to procrastinate further.

We had not chatted in a while, and I hadn’t seen his witty comments in the group for a long time. A few days ago, I learned that he had passed away recently after a bout with cancer.

I have no use for the red Field Notes carpenter pencil, and I don’t really want it. But I’m displaying it prominently for a while as a reminder to myself not to procrastinate with intended gifts or other acts that might make someone happy. Meanwhile, if I hear that another Erasable member wants it, I will not hesitate to ship it off immediately. Life keeps trying to teach me this lesson; it’s time to start learning.

Year of the Fire Horse

 

2/27/26 Fire Horse at Southcenter Mall, Tukwila

I hadn’t done any sketches for Lunar New Year yet this year, so I was especially looking forward to the USk outing at Southcenter Mall, which puts out festive decorations annually. The spectacular focal piece was again the 25-foot dragon, which I sketched for the first time a couple of years ago.

I knew I’d get around to the dragon eventually, but I started with a new piece for the Year of the Fire Horse (above). Although I could have chosen from several different angles, the horse’s butt end gave me an interesting view. Ultimately, I regretted not using a larger sketchbook, as this symbol of speed and high energy seemed a little cramped in my square composition.

Since I’d sketched the dragon from the floor level previously, this time I went up to the second level for an overhead view. I spotted Mark sketching from the floor below, so I put him in, looking like he’d been scooped up by the dragon (at right). Unbeknownst to me until the throwdown, Mark had spotted me too, so I made a similar cameo appearance in his sketch (below)! (This is one of many things that make Urban Sketchers outings so much fun!)

Sketch by Mark Ryan (detail)

Mandatory selfie with the Fire Horse, symbolizing speed and high energy!

Commuters (and Sketch Journal Musings, Part 2)

11/1/25

10/2/25

Our light rail system has been going through a lot of partial closures for maintenance and development. In the long run, the system will be much better (the long-overdue, highly anticipated connection with the Eastside light rail line is probably one of the most exciting public transportation developments in my lifetime! I detest driving across the bridge!), but in the short-run, the closures have been inconvenient. On some recent days, I’ve had to take the bus downtown instead, which can be slower and less reliable.

11/20/25

11/30/25

For sketching, the bus is also way more bumpy; squiggly lines in some sketches shown here are downright humorous! On the upside, natural light through windows can be interesting to catch.

12/8/25

12/12/25

Looking through these commuter sketches prompted me to continue thinking about my sketch journaling process and what my journal is good for. More than any other series, my sketches of people on public transportation document my day-to-day travels. Whether visiting friends, meeting up with other sketchers, or running errands, if I rode a bus or train there, I probably sketched other passengers and noted where I was going. In the same way I might note: “Went downtown” in a written diary, these sketches become my visual diary in a very literal sense. I like that.

12/27/25

1/9/26

1/16/26

1/24/26

1/28/26

1/31/26 I rarely use anything but a marker or brush pen for commuter portraits,
mainly due to expediency, but I have been enjoying Derwent Drawing pencils
so much lately that I gave one a try on this light rail ride.

Back to Cocoa Legato (and Sketch Journal Musings, Part 1)

 

2/20/26 Cocoa Legato, Greenwood neighborhood

After an errand in the area, I took my fitness walk through the Greenwood neighborhood, and imagine my surprise (ha-ha) when I found myself back at Cocoa Legato. My intention this time was to sketch some chocolate makers through the windows that offer a full view of the kitchen operations. Unfortunately, not much human action was going on, though a machine was rapidly spinning a vat of melted chocolate (upper left in spread above). The scent of that place!

In addition to a mocha made with Peruvian chocolate, I bought a chocolate bar made of 70 percent Columbian cacao (a chocolate that sounds like a drug, if there ever was one). I had no intention of getting a vegan chocolate chunk cookie, but halfway through my visit, the baker came out with a freshly baked batch still warm and melty from the oven! No human could resist that, right? (Although I’m generally not a fan of vegan baked goods, the large chunks of melty chocolate made up for any missing eggs or butter!)

12/4/25

12/14/25

I’ve recently been thinking about what my sketch journal is good for. Of course, the bulk of its pages are sketches during fitness walks (although those are fewer and farther between in winter), people on public transportation, and Greg’s cohorts. A new pair of boots or a pair of crows on a wire – they’re all fair game when I keep a sketch journal.

1/18/26

1/21/26

When I’m especially busy, a page in my sketch journal might be the only sketch I make all day. If it weren’t for my commitment to sketch in it every day, I might skip sketching altogether (and that’s a slippery slope). I’m grateful that the little book keeps me honest to my self-commitment and gives me a handy place to put the random bits of my life.

2/9/26

2/11/26

2/23/26 No fresh pastries?! You can bet I won't be going back there. Too bad because it was very nicely appointed.

Central Library, Inside and Out

 

2/25/26 Seattle Central Library, 10th floor

Seattle Central Library is a handy location for winter USk outings: Spectacular (and challenging) floor-to-ceiling windows that offer good light to most interior spaces, plentiful seating and tables on every floor, and an onsite coffee shop. If weather permits, we also have the super-glassy, geometrically crazy library building itself.

Last Wednesday I decided to warm up with an interior sketch from the 10^th floor (top of post). Although I was too lazy to draw the whole building that I could see through the diagonally girded windows, I was intrigued by the transparent pyramid on top (or maybe behind it?). I have not yet been able to find the name of the building.

After a lunch break, the afternoon warmed up a bit, so I braved the cold to find an angle on the library from Fifth and Madison (below). This is the same corner I attempted back in 2021, and it was no less challenging this time.

Library from the corner of 5th and Madison

Back inside with only a short time before the throwdown, I warmed up with coffee and sketched a row of library patrons seated next to those crazily girded windows again. Although perspective on the building exterior was daunting, I enjoyed the much less formidable perspective challenge of seated, mostly still people.

Whew... how comforting to sketch perspective on people instead of architecture!